Chef José Andrés Has Made More Meals for Puerto Ricans Than the Red Cross

As Puerto Rican citizens still find themselves without sufficient water, food, and power in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, chef José Andrés is doing his part to help. Since last month, the D.C.-based chef has been in San Juan to cook meals with his non-profit, World Central Kitchen, writes Tasting Table. As of late, Andrés has officially served one million meals in Puerto Rico—dwarfing the Red Cross's 540,000.

The Spanish chef and restaurant owner, whose stateside small-plate-focused restaurants include Minibar, The Bazaar, and Jaleo, has been posting regular updates of his efforts on Twitter and Instagram. His first order of business was preparing and distributing hearty meals, like traditional Caribbean beef stew, Shepherd’s pie, and paella to communities that were hit the hardest by Maria, including Toa Baja and Santurce. He’s also set up a relief kitchens and created mobile kitchens in food trucks to help feed as many people as possible—originally, he aimed to feed between 3,000 and 5,000 people in a day. A week in, the crew was serving up to 25,000 meals daily, and now, that daily number has skyrocketed to well over 120,000.

Andrés is making a concentrated effort to bring food to hospitals, so staff working long hours amid the power outages are fed properly. He also personally made and delivered food to a home for the elderly.

In an interview with CNN, the chef, who has spoken out against President Trump and in support of immigrants since the November 2016 election, spoke of the importance of the private sector in helping the humanitarian crisis. “I’m sure the Red Cross has money, I’m sure FEMA has money. I’m sure they are using the money well, but I can tell you, as the private sector, we can use the money very well,” he said.

Though Andrés and his volunteers are on the ground in Puerto Rico, the chef’s outposts of Jaleo (with locations in D.C., Virginia, and Maryland) are hosting a #ChefsForPuertoRico donation page on their websites from September 26 to October 31—the event, listed under happenings, links to World Central Kitchen.

This article was originally published on September 30, 2017. It has been updated with new information.